My husband was diagnosed with DLB 6 months ago, but was in a severe depression a year before that. For the past 1 1/2 years, he has been highly suspicious of me, monitoring every move I make in our house. We have been married for over 50 yrs. and over a year ago he asked me to be in charge of all the finances, etc. But, he still wants to know what I am doing every second. As much as I try to accept this paranoia as part of LBD, at times it infuriates me and I get so angry and upset. When I ask why he does it, he says he doesn't know--yet he persists.

Any suggestions as to how to live with this constant annoyance? I am his full-time caregiver now, leaving about 15 hrs./week, so it does get exhausting.

You might check with your local senior center or Alzheimer's Association chapter to see if they offer a class on dealing with dementia-related behavior. I personally found such a class very helpful.

Mon Feb 20, 2012 2:00 am

Challenged

Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2010 2:06 amPosts: 63

Re: Suspiciosness

Try discussing it with his neurologist. Caregiving is hard enough without such behavior. A simple adjustment in medication might make a huge difference to you and to him. It must be hard on him, too, to have these suspicions all the time. My husband of 48 years followed me everywhere up to about a year ago. He wasn't monitoring me, I think he saw me as a link to the pre-LBD world and wanted to stay close to that link. He's too feeble to get up and follow me around the house now, but becomes agitated if someone isn't in the room with him.

Tue Mar 27, 2012 3:52 am

LTCVT

Joined: Fri Jan 15, 2010 9:33 pmPosts: 3441Location: Vermont

Re: Suspiciosness

Perhaps the best thing you can do is to get a CG to come in to watch over him while you get out for breaks. Some of the behavior might be tweaked with meds, and you can learn about strategies that may help temporarily, but getting out so you have space from the craziness of the disease would be very helpful, I think. I know I had to get away from it with my dad, so some days when I'd plan to be with him at the ALF all day, I might only be able to be there for a couple of hours. If he'd been living in my house, I'd have had to find an escape to maintain my own health and sanity. Also, having a strong support system and being able to "blow off some steam" with others who understand what you are going through may be very helpful too. Some of the people on this forum were so supportive in this way and helped me through some very rough times. Local support groups can provide that too, especially if you meet a person or two that you feel very comfortable talking with outside the meetings as well. Lynn

_________________Lynn, daughter of 89 year old dad dx with possiblity of LBD, CBD, PSP, FTD, ALS, Vascular Dementia, AD, etc., died Nov. 30, 2010 after living in ALF for 18 months.

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